Jennifer Beals at the TCA Winter Press Tour

Jennifer along her co-star Clive Standen and executive producers Alex Cary and Matt Gross attended the NBC’s ‘Taken’ Panel, TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena on January 18th.
During the panel discussion Jennifer talked about Taken and her character Christina Hart“We’re watching the planting of the seed and watching the plant grow.” Jennifer said about the series.

“I loved the film “La Femme Nikita” because every moment was about character”
“Christina is an unsung hero. Incredibly dedicated. Her service to country has come at personal cost/sacrifice and has a remarkable ability to see the big picture”.“I had an adviser who certainly came into play when I thought about this character”“I wish I was more organized.. more of a strategist.” speaking about her character“Jennifer has gone above and beyond since the first day”, added Alex Cary.

Is Bryan Mills scared of Jennifer Beals’ character? “I think he welcomes her guidance and leadership” said Alex Cary.

“It’s not about his set of skills,” Matt Gross said about the differences between the film and TV versions of the franchise, “It’s about understanding him as a character. It’s about how he becomes a hero.”

Added Alex Cary: “It was never about making a Taken prequel but a modern origin story set in modern-day times. Creating this character from the ground up is what attracted me to the project.”

The show follows how Mills morphs into the killing machine that he is. You could say his sister’s death is the straw that breaks the camel’s back (and she’s not the only thing that is ‘taken’ from him this season). He’s mentored by Beals’ assassin Christina Hart.

“If you were to interview Bryan Mills and the people who defined him, this woman would be at the top of the list,” said Cary. “He welcomes her guidance and leadership, but he doesn’t have an easy relationship with authority.”

Standen defined Mills against some of the great big-screen action heroes: James Bond “has the perfect suit and the cool line to the villain and the girl,” said the leading man. Jason Bourne “is cold, calculated, doesn’t know his past, not an everyman,” while Mission: Impossible‘s Ethan Hunt is “tech savvy” and “larger than life.”

But for Standen, “Bryan Mills is just a man.”

Jennifer told she risked her life when a fire stunt on the set turned into a real blaze.
She was more than a little concerned about the scene and raised her concerns before cameras rolled, but she was told stuntmen had everything under control.
“There was an incident where a car actually caught on fire and I actually had to pull an actor out of a burning car,” Jennifer told. “That was no joke. It was a mishap that happened.

“The car was only supposed to be on fire on the top. I asked, ‘What happens on the inside of the car?’ And they said, ‘Nothing, there won’t be anything on the inside of the car’. But when I went to pull this person out of the car (for the scene) the entire interior of the car burst into flames!

“The car was not supposed to go on fire like that. I had to genuinely reach in and get this person out as quickly as possible.”

But Jennifer was proud of her actions as she saw a castmate in distress: “I did learn that my instinct is to help the other person,” she adds. “I was very happy that I didn’t just run away from the car! It was fine.”

She even stayed in character throughout the drama and stuck to the script, before she let rip a series of expletives.

“The southside of Chicago came out of my mouth instantly at cut,” she continues.